Sky Bet turnover up; online bets cushion TV gambling fall
Sky Bet managing director Richard Flint hailed the 9% rise in the operator's revenues announced this morning as proof that the company is winning market share off its competitors, as a rise in online bets cushioned a drop in TV gambling.
SKY BET managing director Richard Flint hailed the 9% rise in the operator’s revenues announced this morning as proof that the company is winning market share off its competitors, as a rise in online bets cushioned a drop in TV gambling.
Sky Bet revenue for the 12 month period to the end of June rose to £48m, from £44m in 2008, as the declining number of TV betting customers was offset by a rise in those gambling online.
Sports and casino provided the bulk of the revenues, with pre-tax profits approximately doubling on 2008’s figures to reach £11m.
Flint told EGRmagazine.com that one of the key reasons for the rise in revenues was the Sky brand presence in the UK. He said: “All our products are accessible from a single account with no need to transfer funds between products. Our four product verticals all come under the Sky brand, which makes for a more heavyweight brand and has enabled us to attract customers who might not have opened gaming accounts previously.”
Flint also cited overall improvement in the levels of customer service, online marketing and the products’ functionalities and community features for the improved performance.
“We have also been better at leveraging the Sky brand with good click through rates from Sky Sports and Sky channels,” he said. “The media access (provided by Sky) is great but we also have to be cautious and ensure we stick to our corporate and social responsibility issues.”
Sky Bet welcomed possible regulation of the online gaming industry in non-UK markets, Flint added, but would continue its current focus on improving products and operations in its main UK market.